For a word-of-mouth pre-screening of “I Love You Man,” the studio challenged any guys in the audience to coordinate their clothing and make it a man date to remember, in return for preferential seating. The only two at the Downtown Century tonight who were up for it were Sac State students Ryan Johnson (left) and Alan Badarou (right). (With apologies for the poor quality photograph, courtesy of my cell phone!)

The film itself is a true bromantic comedy, taking all the cues of the typical rom-com and translating them into a platonic, man-man bromance. The outcome is remarkably funny and endearing, largely as a result of the performances of leading men Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. Rudd in particular is almost pitch perfect throughout as a guy who has never really had any male friends and who is trying just a little too hard to fit in and be cool. OK, a lot too hard.

But it also works as a result of a neat cast of secondary characters, all of whom fit and play well against each other. It’s hard to fault a project that finds a reason to put J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, and Lou Ferrigno together on screen.

"Sunshine Cleaning," which I haven’t seen yet and which opens in Sacramento next week, has had an exceptionally strong opening in other cities (the best per-theater averages of the year so far) – but for now at least, the funniest movie I’ve seen so far this year is “I Love You Man.”